Have you heard of this funny thing called Kicklight? As of the posting of this article chances are you have not. Kicklight is nothing short of a revolution for online video interactivity and a viable monetization solution for user generated content. There is so much opportunity for creative minded people with the power of Kicklight in their hands. As you become more acquainted with Kicklight and its possibilities you might be interested to know more about this company. I thought I would share some tidbits with you.

#1. The idea for Kicklight came about two years before the company was started.

The founder of Kicklight John McIntire formulated this idea back in 2006. However, he sat on it for two years because he thought for sure that YouTube or Google would come up with a similar idea. Much to his surprise and obvious delight his idea was never discovered. With the backing of Stanford Research Institute (SRI) John set into motion the revolutionary concept of Kicklight.

#2. Initial marketing for Kicklight was done by a Claremont Mckenna College Junior Shamil Hargovan.

Shamil is the person that introduced me to Kicklight back in October of 2008. He did a 2008 summer internship at SRI, where he met John McIntire and learned about Kicklight. Shamil was and still is the person who is marketing the site to the public. He is very energetic and has a great deal of vision for Kicklight. I’m impressed that he can market this up and coming company while being a full-time student. I for one could not do it.

#3. Kicklight was tested and used by Claremont College students in the beginning.

While this may not come as a surprise it is interesting to note that the founder of Kicklight, John McIntire a CMC alum, decided to place Kicklight in the hands of college students. Through a few presentations on the Claremont College campuses students were introduced to Kicklight and allowed to produce their own creations. My introduction to Kicklight was through a presentation at Scripps College in 2008.

#4. The hope for Kicklight was that Google would purchase it and integrate kicks into the YouTube experience.

From the beginning Kicklight did not want to be a competitor to YouTube but instead a partner. The idea behind Kicklght is that videos be made with the intention of utilizing kicks to enhance them. YouTube/Google has struggled mightily to find a way to monetize their videos. They briefly played with pre-rolls, which was axed almost as quickly as it appeared, and now are placing ads in transparent boxes and a variety of other “in the box” formats. Kicklight has brought kicks outside of the box so as to maintain the integrity of the video and not distract from enjoying it. Wouldn’t you prefer seeing ads, graphics and other information outside of the video you are watching? Welcome to Kicklight.

#5. Kicklight contacted YouTube/Google about their concept.

This may seem strange or counterintuitive but YouTube was contacted about the concept behind Kicklight. A representative from Google told Kicklight that they thought the idea was interesting and would keep an eye on them. I found it strange that Google would not jump on Kicklight from the beginning but they may have wanted to see if it caught on before investing time and money into the idea. My guess is that once Kicklight reaches a certain level of exposure Google will dip in a offer to purchase it. Of course this is assuming that most video producers will want to create their own kicks.

It is interesting and strange to be writing about Kicklight before most people even know about it. I hope some of these tidbits will interest you, especially if/when Kicklight is a household name. I think it would be a lot of fun if the online video community were to grasp the power and earning potential behind Kicklight. Here’s to the Kicklight revolution!

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